- ISBN13: 9780786940752
- Condition: USED – Very Good
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Product Description
To her, to her dying breath, you were the untouchable one, the one whose flesh her dagger could not penetrate.
THE ASSASSIN
A cold and emotionless killer for whom every soul has a price, even his own, embarks on a path to find out just how high that price can be.
THE MERCENARY
A dark elf of limitless guile dares to challenge a king, and carve for himself a place in the inhospitable World Above.
ILNEZHARA and TAZMIKELLA are ancient dragons of great power, accustomed to easily manipulating the humans around them. But not all humans are so easily led. When they pushed Entreri and Jarlaxle into the heart of the Bloodstone Lands, not even they could have imagined the strength of the human assassin’s resolve, or the limitless expanse of the drow mercenary’s ambition.
Andrew Gray @ 4:47 pm
Road to the Patriarch by R.A. Salvatore is the third, and final, book in the Sellswords Trilogy. The first being Servant of the Shard and the Second being Promise of the Witch-King. This book takes place right after the events of Promise of the Witch-King and continues the tale of Jarlaxle and Artemis and their journey together as Artemis seeks to come to grips with his past.
As with most Salvatore books this one has a decent mix of characters and plot, however, no matter how well constructed this plot is – this book is largely about character development. Fans of Salvatore have watched both Jarlaxle and Artemis grow as characters through several books, aside from the Drizzt books, the growth of Artemis in this book may be the single biggest development in a character in one book I have read in a long time. We learn a little about Jarlaxle’s past, but this book focuses mainly on Artemis. Jarlaxle is merely along for the ride. There are some things in this book that are not usually found in Forgotten Realms books, some of the content – but to say more about that would be giving spoilers. I will say that the journey that Artemis undertakes in the second half of this book is gritty and filled with heartache.
The plot of this book can really be divided into two parts. The first part focuses on Jarlaxle and Artemis’ time dealing with Grandmaster Kane and the Citadel of Assassins in the Bloodstone Lands, while the second half focuses quite a bit of Artemis’ individual journey that leads to some shocking moments. I will say that the second half of the book seemed, at times, slightly rushed. Mostly because Salvatore knew what he wanted to happen and needed to fit it all in. I am guessing this book could have been 400+ pages easily. The plot is well laid out and everything that happens makes perfect sense. Salvatore obviously invested a great deal of time making sure the story stayed true to the characters and their situation. This allows the reader to care that much more about what is going on in the story.
Salvatore has a knack for weaving a believable story with characters that seem so real. We all know Artemis is a very skilled assassin, yet, while reading this book you can’t help but care deeply for his story and his past and how that played a part in who he is. If you are looking for large scale battles, this book may be a disappointment to you. If you are looking for wizard battles and lots of magic, this book may be a disappointment to you. However, if you are looking for an excellently crafted character driven story, I am pretty you will enjoy this. This is classic Salvatore and fans will surely find something in this book to enjoy.
Fans of the Forgotten Realms and Salvatore will find this book and enjoy it. New fans would be encouraged to go back and read the rest of Salvatore’s Forgotten Realms books before reading this one, that way all the events and discussions will make more sense. However, picking up the Sellsword Trilogy should be ok as well. I will continue to recommend Salvatore as an author I enjoy a great deal. This was a ride well worth taking.
Jase Webb @ 6:23 pm
I bought this book the day it came out, just as I have bought every other book R.A. Salvatore has ever published the day it came out…including the first of course. However, never have I been privaledged with being the first person to review any of his books on this website, and for that I am grateful. Not only that, but to write the first review of one of his BEST books…
However, I didn’t come here to write an in-depth review of the book, go over everything I liked and disliked, or accidentaly reveal and therefore spoil anything for you. I will however tell you this, I have loved most of R.A. Salvatore’s books, and even hated a few. I am also a minority in the fact that I kind of disliked the book before this one, the second book in the trilogy. That being said….
Not a single one of the books in this long and ongoing Forgotten Realms series made me laugh out loud so often, almost bring a tear to my eye several times, nor made my jaw hit the floor in amazement so frequently as this book has. This book was simply brilliant, a masterpiece. And what person reading this book out of the millions, would NOT want to learn who, why, and what Artemis Entreri really is?….because his early childhood was FINALLY answered! The beginning of this book was fun, the middle was confusing at first, the ending was one of the best endings to any book I’ve ever read. 5 out of 5 stars, more easily than any book I’ve read has earned it.
J. Givens @ 7:17 pm
Salvatore has the unfortunate fate of being a writer of some really great fantasy novels, and now each subsequent work will, no doubt, be compared to them. That said, this book is good, but not as good as “Servant of the Shard.” R. A. Salvatore is one of my favorite fantasy writers, and I enjoy reading his books about Drizzt and Entreri. Reading this series of books with Jarlaxle and Entreri gives me a break from the other novels featuring Drizzt because these novels tend to be a bit darker, more chaotic, less moral, to some extent, considering the two characters around whom the stories take place.
The plot in this book was a bit weak. Firstly, there is an investigation into the events of the preceding novel, in which a number of notable characters are killed. After this, Jarlaxle manipulates an artifact and entices a king to enter a war against him to basically unite two realms into one kingdom. It’s a stretch of manipulation, even for a drow like Jarlaxle. And there is this whole philosophical thread in the novel (voiced by Entreri) about the right to rule and such.
When the book should really end, there is a subplot at the end of the book, where we see a culmination in Entreri’s reconciliation of his inner turmoil. It seems like the end of the novel should have been after their forced exit from the Bloodstone lands. The subsequent part could have been the start of another novel altogether.
There is a lot of serious to the book, particularly with Jarlaxle’s manipulation of Entreri’s feelings about his past (and, of a lesser extent, Athrogate’s, as well). There is also a betrayal that Entreri has to face. But there is humor in the book, too, mainly between Jarlaxle’s bantering back and forth with Entreri. The character of Anthrogate is a great addition to the novel. I love how he was developed, and I hope Salvatore brings him back in future books.
There are a variety of well developed characters in the novel that really give it a sense of being alive. It gives the characters a robust world in which they play out their parts. I particularly liked the powerful players with which Jarlaxle and Entreri have to deal. The dragon sisters were great (the bit where Athrogate tries unsuccessfully to attack one of them in a bar, not knowing they are dragons, is really funny!).
All things considered, it was a good read, an enjoyable escape into Salvatore’s fantasy world, and I hope to read more books starring Jarlaxle, Entreri, and Athrogate. Don’t skip this book!
Blackstaff @ 8:38 pm
Like other writers, I tend to focus the stories I write about on my characters more than the plot itself, and Salvatore does exactly this in Road of the Patriarch.
After being left off from Promise of the Witch King, I expected the third book to be about Jarlaxle trying to take over the Bloodstone Lands from King Gareth Dragonsbane. After reading this book (which only took me about a day) I was surprised at how little Salvatore had the drow mercenary “succeed” in the Bloodstone Lands and how the book seemed to be more focused on Entreri. Truth be told, I didn’t look at this as one big book, but more like 3-4 short stories. The first one being about Entreri & Jarlaxle being rewarded by Gareth Dragonsbane, the next is the rising of King Artemis the First & banishment from the Bloodstone Lands, and the third is the assassin’s return to his home to exercise the demons that has haunted him for so long.
Another thing I liked a lot about this book was how it gave some good history on the Bloodstone Lands. Salvatore catalogues many of Dragonsbane and his allies (particularly the ones who helped him defeat the Witch King). My suspicion is that Salvatore kind of fell for the paladin king like he has for so many of his other characters. Though he was belittled by Entreri most of the time, Gareth Dragonsbane remained a good and honorable man. Though I’ll probably get yelled at for this, I was rooting for Gareth’s men to take down Castle D’Athare.
Road of the Patriarch is a great read. It has its great action scenes as well as some emotional scenes that will leave a reader breathless. One thing I would like to see from Salvatore is a book about Gareth Dragonsbane. He talks about wanting to do a book about Menzoberranzen during the times when Zaknafein and Jarlaxle were friends, but I really think he should also write a book about the fall of the Witch-King.
K. Fletcher @ 10:23 pm
Not the most exciting book from RAS but the story is packed with intrigue and deception. The story feels a little rushed at times, because so much ground needed to be covered, but little was lost. Best part of the book was that it wasn’t predictable at all. The plotting will leave you scratching your head at times, but than again what doesn’t that involves Jarlaxle. No great big battles or powerfull enemies if thats what your into. All the excitement comes from the deception going on in the background or the dialog between characters. My only complaint, without spoiling anything, would be that the ending is a little boring for such an exciting duo.